Tears of Life
by ItalianLightning
Summary: Emily Cochrane, best friend of the boys for her whole life, left Ipswich when she was 12. Now, 5 years later, she has returned, but with a secret she has kept for the past 3 years. She has changed in these last few years.
1. Chapter 1 Journey to the Past

**Tears of Life**

**Chapter 1-Journey to the Past**

October 12, 1996

For most of the inhabitants of Ipswich, Massachusetts, it was an ordinary day. The sky was cloudy and dark as it rained slowly. People in this part of the country rarely paid much attention to this kind of weather, as it was so normal. But today, Emily Cochrane felt as if the skies were reflecting the pain she felt inside. Today was the day of her beloved father's funeral. He had died 1 week ago, only a couple of months after Emily's 7th birthday. Paul Cochrane had died of a heart attack, at only 32 years of age. And now, this young girl's heart seemed to be broken. Her only consolation was her four best friends.

Her cousin Caleb Danvers, Pogue Parry, Tyler Simms and Reid Garwin. They stood around her now, the four of them only 8 and 7 years of age themselves, supporting her in the ways only best friends can. Of course, only Reid really knew how she was feeling, as his father had died nearly 2 years ago. And he was the only one who could really console her crying. He held her hand as Paul's casket was lowered into the ground and watched as tear after tear slipped from her green eyes down her face. He knew that at this point she should cry, and said nothing, only holding her hand gently, occasionally giving it a squeeze, reminding her that he was there. Caleb, Pogue and Tyler surrounded the two, Caleb holding her other hand, and the other two's hand's on her shoulders. Her mother was too far into her own grief to comfort her child.

Evelyn Danvers tried the best she could to support her sister in her grief, but had very little experience in this field. She held her sister's hand and allowed Marissa to cry into her shoulder, but other than that could do nothing. Paul was dead, and no power in the world could bring him back. She knew Marissa was angry with her husband, William, for not being able to help Paul in his suffering, but it was far too late by the time William had convinced the other families to try. Yes, Marissa Cochrane and her family, including Emily, knew about the power. Marissa had accidentally seen William use many years ago, and had demanded an explanation. And so this family was let into the secret of the Power. But now, as the final shovels of dirt were packed onto her husband's grave, she was angry and frustrated at this Covenant, for not helping her husband.

Emily watched, without really seeing, the final shovels of dirt and cried. Tears rolling down her cheeks, one after another, with no end in sight. Her father was dead, the man she had always seen as invincible, was never coming back. And at this young, tender age, that was nearly too much to bear. So she turned to her cousin and cried, feeling his arms encircle her body in a tight hug. Before long, she could feel three more bodies join into the hug, and she relaxed in this circle of warmth and love. After a few moments, the bodies pulled away, and she looked into Caleb's eyes, glistening with unshed tears. She nearly broke into tears again, knowing that Caleb was refusing to cry for his uncle, because he had to be strong for her. Looking into the faces of the other three boys, she knew that that same thought was running through their minds. Glancing over at her mother, Emily felt a sensation of anger at the sight. Marissa had been like this for days, not being able to care for herself, let alone a child and the mother and daughter had been forced to temporarily move into the Danver's home to be cared for. Emily knew that her mother was grieving, but it seemed as if Marissa had even forgotten she had a daughter.

Emily felt a tug on one of her braids and looked over her shoulder to see her friends looking at her. Caleb had been the one to pull on her hair, and his voice was strewn with sadness as he talked to the younger girl.

"C'mon Baby girl, let's go home," he grabbed one of her hands and slowly led her away from the funeral scene, the other boy's following close behind. He led the group towards one of the cars idling at the edge of the graveyard. William Danvers was waiting for the five children at the car, and smiled sadly at the young girl, before pulling his niece in for a hug. The six of them climbed into the car and it began its way back to the Danver's mansion. Emily stared out the window, letting her finger trace the path of a raindrop sliding down the glass. She felt a warm hand grab her cold one and looked over in surprise at Reid. He pulled her in close to his body, feeling how cold she was. He wrapped the girl in his jacket, before whispering hoarsely into her ear.

"I'm sorry," Emily stared at the older boy in surprise. What on earth had he done to be sorry for? She didn't have a chance to ask, as the car pulled into the Danver's driveway, and she felt herself being pulled out of the car by William. She looked over her shoulder at the boy who was standing in the driveway, his blond hair slicked down by the rain. She pulled herself out of her uncle's grasp and ran towards Reid.

"Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything wrong," Emily looked into his blue eyes and saw them shimmering in tears, before one slipped down his face. She was horrified; she had never seen Reid Garwin cry before. He was always the tough one.

"It's my fault your dad died," Emily took a step back hearing those words come from his mouth. Her emotions went into overdrive. The sadness of her father's death, the anger at her mother and now the confusion of Reid's confession was too much for the seven-year-old to handle. Her vision wavered and time seemed to slow down as her body fell to the pavement before fainting.

When she woke up the next morning, Emily remembered nothing of Reid's strange confession, and the boy intended to leave it that way. He didn't want the young girl to hate him; she was his best friend, next to Tyler. So he left the issue alone, never once repeating it again, until he too had forgotten.

Over the next few months, life slowly returned to normal for the families. Marissa and Emily moved back into their house, and by the next summer, Marissa had begun to date. Wayne Saunders was one of her oldest friends, and in her grief she turned to him for comfort. This only caused Emily to further dislike her mother for seeming to forget her father so soon. It had not even been a year since his death. Emily became more and more distant from her mother, until soon she began to see Evelyn as a substitute mother. Marissa was far too caught up in her own little world to worry about her daughter.

May 17, 1998

A far cry from the funeral at which these same people had congregated at before, the church was now the subject of a wedding. Wayne Saunders had proposed to Marissa only 2 months before, and she had accepted, much to Emily's disbelief. And yet here she was; sitting in a pew, waiting for the ceremony to begin. She had refused to be in the wedding. But seeming to be in the same position as before, she was sitting in between Caleb and Reid, both holding her hands, for comfort and for restraint. The two nine-year-olds knew Emily was not in favour of the wedding, and so they comforted her as best they could, well at the same time, tried to warm her up to the idea of having Wayne as a stepfather.

Actually, it was not the idea of having Wayne as a stepfather that really bothered the eight-year-old. In fact, she liked the guy. It was her mother that Emily had a problem with. To her small mind, her mother was trying to replace the man that Emily had loved so dearly. She couldn't understand how her mom could find a replacement for her father so quickly. As soon as Marissa had begun to see Wayne as more than a friend, Paul had seemed all but forgotten.

And now, as she stood and watched her mother walk down the aisle, she couldn't help but wonder what it was that Marissa saw in Wayne. Sure, he was nice enough, but he was nothing like Paul. Of course, to Emily's eyes, Paul had been her whole world, and while she had come to terms with his death, a day didn't go by where Emily didn't miss her father.

She didn't notice she had begun to cry until she felt Caleb move aside her curtain of black hair to wipe away a tear. Leaning her head against her shoulder, his arms encircled her, pulling her close to his body and she felt Reid rubbing her back. Emily didn't really know the reason for her tears; only that no matter how hard she tried, she could not stop. She accidentally let out a sob, and her mother turned from the alter to glare at her. Not being able to take the suffering any longer, the young girl stood up and ran from the church.

Stepping foot outside, she winced and her eyes automatically closed from the glaring of the sun. It was a beautiful, sunny day out, not a cloud in the sky, and Emily felt as if the weather was mocking her. Trying to tell her to forget her father and be happy that her mother is moving on with her life. That it was time to move on in her life as well. She sat on the steps in front of the church, wincing as the stones dug into her legs, but she was glad for the pain as it distracted her from the pain her mother was producing. Alone in her thoughts, she didn't hear the church doors open and close behind her.

"You know, it's alright to cry," a voice suddenly sounded from behind her, and she spun around to meet the intruder, only to slip off the step and fall down the rest of the stairs, "Emily!"

Reid watched, stunned, as the girl fell down the remaining steps. When she landed in a heap at the bottom, he pulled from his stupor and rushed down to help her. He gingerly helped Emily sit up, taking in the various cuts and scrapes that were now littering her arms and legs. He brushed dirt off the girl's pants, before sitting down beside here and taking one of her hands in his. She laid her head down on his shoulder, before mumbling something that Reid didn't quite hear.

"Say again?" he gently lifted her jaw so his blue eyes could see into her green ones.

"Why is it alright to cry? Shouldn't I be happy I'm getting a new dad?" Reid watched as another couple of tears escaped her quivering eyes, and he lifted one hand, gently wiping them off her face. He allowed her head to rest on his shoulder and sighed, wrapping one arm around her.

"Oh Baby girl. Wayne isn't gonna replace your dad, and you don't have to be happy. Your mom is marrying him because she's selfish and I'll tell you a secret. No one wants your mom to marry him. Everyone is just trying to be nice," Reid looked down at the girl to see her reaction. Emily lifted her head and stared at the older boy.

"But your mom told my mom she thinks it's a good idea..."

"She lied. No one wants to tell your mom what she thinks, because everyone is scared that she'll get mad and want to move away...but she's not going to," Reid quickly added, noticing the stricken expression on Emily's face appear, " You love your dad, and you miss him a lot. We all do and that's why we're not happy either."

"So my mom doesn't love my dad?" Emily was confused by this. Her mom had been so sad when Paul had died, but now it appeared as if she had never loved him.

"No. I think your mom does love your dad. Too much. Which is why she is getting married again, I think. She loved him so much, that she needs to find someone else to dull the pain of her missing him," Reid tried to explain his logic, but if the confused look on the young girl's face was any indication, he wasn't doing a very good job at it. Emily sighed and laid her head back down on Reid's shoulder.

"Thanks Reid," she murmured quietly, confused at his logic but still grateful for him at least trying. It was more than her mother ever did.

The next few years seemed to fly by for Emily. She spent most of her days avoiding home, and many times spent the night at the Danvers house. Occasionally, she would come to school with bruises on her face, or walking with a slight limp, but always had a reason for the injury. And everyone believed her, as she was known to be accident-prone. Well, everyone except her four best friends. Caleb, Pogue, Reid, and Tyler never had enough evidence to be able to confront the girl. So they left it alone, only able to patch up her bruises and they never pushed the issue of why she avoided her house whenever she could.

June 14, 2001

Emily Cochrane stared at her four best friends with tears in her eyes. Behind her, a moving truck was idling at the curb, nearly ready to leave. Her mother, Marissa and stepfather, Wayne were each saying good-bye's to their friends in the now empty house. But Emily couldn't bring herself to say it out loud. Letting her hair fall in front of her face, she stumbled forward to Pogue bringing her arms around the older boy. He wrapped her in his arms and she could feel him bury his face in her hair. After a few moments, he reluctantly pulled away and looked at the girl in the eyes.

"I'm gonna miss you Emmy-Bear," Emily gave him a small smile at his nickname for her, "See ya in a few years." Pogue was trying not to show his tears, but Emily saw them sliding down his cheeks.

Next was Tyler. She slowly walked over to the boy who was openly crying. Everyone knew the two of them were close, both of them being the youngest of the group. Grabbing the still-shorter boy in a hug, she whispered to him that everything was going to be alright. Tyler looked at her with a smile.

"Aren't I supposed to be the one telling you that Baby Girl? You are the one who's leaving," his eyes sparkled with tears and laughter as he gazed at his childhood friend.

"I think you're taking it worse than me. And don't call me that name, Baby boy," she laughed as she gave him one last hug.

Turning to Caleb, she saw that the sprinkling rain had caused his hair to stick up in unnatural ways. She attempted to smooth down his hair, frowning slightly when it didn't do what she wanted. The nearly 13-year-old boy reached up and grabbed her hand in his larger one. She gazed up at her cousin, before nearly knocking him over in a hug. He grabbed her tightly and whispered in her ear.

"Try not to get into too much trouble. I'm not gonna be there to bail you out next time," Emily smiled through her tears.

"I wish I could be here for your birthday," she choked out, knowing how much the idea of getting his powers scared Caleb. But the brown haired boy only smiled.

"I wish you could be here too. But you can't and I promise I'll call as soon as I can after I get them," Emily grabbed her cousin around the waist once more, before giving him a kiss on the cheek. When she turned towards Reid, all she could see was his back. She approached him slowly, going around him so she could see his face. She was shocked to see tears rolling down his face. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen him cry.

"Reid...I'll miss you," Emily said, tears rolling down her own cheeks. She reached forward to give him a quick hug, knowing how much he didn't like it. So when he reached around her to pull her in closer to his body, she was surprised, but didn't say anything, only hugged him tighter.

"I'm gonna miss you too. I don't know what I'm going to do without you Emily. You're the only person that understands me," Reid didn't let go of her for several minutes. When he eventually pulled back, Emily pulled a package out of her book bag, which was sitting on the ground. It was a wrapped present. When she held it out for Reid to take, he looked at the package confused.

"Consider it an early birthday present. Caleb helped me get it, but I saw how much you wanted them the other day," opening the gift, Reid saw the pair of black fingerless gloves he had been admiring at the store the other day. He immediately pulled them on his hands, before grabbing Emily in another giant hug.

"I love them," he whispered. Emily pulled back when she heard the door to the house close. Looking back, she saw her mom and stepdad coming onto the driveway and going towards the car.

"C'mon Emily, it's time to go," she heard her mom yell. Turning back to the boy's one last time, she gave them a quick, fleeting smile before running towards the car, not wanting the boys to see she was crying again.

"Emily, wait!" She heard Reid and slowed down, turning around to face him, "Umm....I wanted to tell you that I...I lo...I love you!" He reached forward and grabbed her face, before placing his lips softly on hers. Emily's mind was spinning. His lips tasted like cinnamon and chocolate, but before long it was over and he was pulling back. Reid smiled before saying good bye and running back towards the group of cheering boys.

Emily stumbled as she turned around, before slowly walking towards the car that was going to take her away from the boy she now knew she loved.


	2. Chapter 2 Recuerda Me

_I want to thank everyone who reviewed the first chapter, as well as everyone who added this story to their favourites or alert lists. So, THANK-YOU!!! All those reviews made my day! Here is the next chapter to the story and I really hope you like it. Feedback please!!_

**Tears of Life**

**Chapter 2-Recuerda Me **

October 2, 2006

17-year-old Emily Cochrane stared out the small window of the Boeing 767. The 3 hour flight from Oklahoma City to Boston, Massachusetts seemed to drag on forever to her eyes, and she had not been able to get any sleep at all, much to the disappointment of her social worker. At least Alexis didn`t have that problem. The 3-year-old had slept for the entire flight. Turning to look at the blond-haired child sitting next to her, Emily heard the whimpered cries that she recognized as a nightmare. She ran her hand through the long, blond hair and watched as the child`s face relaxed.

"Emily?" Samantha Connelly turned towards her young charge, "We should be landing in about half an hour. Do you want to wake her or should I?" She watched as Emily's face turned angry as the young girl turned to her.

"As if I would let you," As far as Samantha knew, she had never done anything to Emily; oh well. She watched as Emily began to gently wake the child sitting between them.

Alexis's bright blue eyes were filled with sleepiness as they slowly fluttered open. Seemingly confused, the child looked from Samantha to Emily, until she stopped in realization.

"We gone?" she asked Emily, who was still running her fingers through Alexis's hair.

"Yeah honey, we're gone. But we're almost to our new home, so we have to get ready to meet our family, okay?" Alexis nodded, fully awake now and eagerly glanced around the cabin of the filled plane. Emily reached down below her seat and grabbed a black backpack filled with a change of clothes for Alexis. Grabbing the wriggling child by the hand, she inched by Samantha and made her way to the bathroom at the back of the plane.

20 minutes later, Alexis was dressed in a green t-shirt and jeans and her long hair had been tied back into two braids, which were hanging over her shoulder as the child looked out the window at the approaching ground. The plane was landing and Emily was as nervous as hell. She was going to see her cousin and the three boys she considered family for the first time in 5 years. The teenager had no idea how the boys were going to react to the new her, as she was definitely not the same little girl she was when she left. Oklahoma had made her who she was today.

When the plane landed, she unbuckled her seatbelt and reached over to do the same to Alexis. This task proved difficult as the child was literally bouncing in her seat with excitement. Emily sighed.

"Lexi, baby," Alexis ceased her bouncing and looked at Emily with wide eyes, "When we get off the plane, you have to hold my hand and not let go, alright?" Alexis nodded, before resuming her earlier activity. Laughing softly to herself, Emily grabbed the backpack, and placed it on her back, before grabbing the child's hand firmly.

Emily was getting more and more nervous by the second, as the trio walked off the plane and into the terminal. She wished Samantha would slow down, but it looked as if the woman wanted to get rid of the two children as soon as possible. So she just walked behind the social worker, keeping her hand wrapped around Alexis's small one. She soon found herself quite occupied by the fact that both hers and Alexis's shoes were the same colour.

"Where are they, where, where, where..." Samantha's muttering was really starting to get on her nerves, "Oh, there they are."

Emily's head jerked up and followed Samantha's gaze to see two familiar people standing near a pillar, looking around as if looking for someone. Samantha hurried towards the two and Emily and Alexis followed behind more slowly.

"Mrs. Danvers, my name is Samantha Connelly and I'm Emily and Alexis's social worker," Emily saw Samantha shaking the hand of a woman who she knew to be her aunt. Evelyn still looked the same she did 5 years ago. Her hair was shorter and Emily could see that she looked a lot older and more stressed than the last time she had seen her, but all in all she could easily recognize her aunt. Caleb on the other hand...

"Emily?!?" speaking of Caleb, here he was standing in front of her. Emily could barely recognize the young man standing there. He had cut his hair, and spiked it and he must be two feet taller than the last time she had seen him. He also had stress written all over his face, as if he was carrying a huge weight on his shoulders, although she shouldn't be saying anything because she too had the same look.

"Oh my god, Emily! It's so good to see you. You have no idea how tough everything's been since you left," Caleb enveloped the shorter girl in a hug. Emily returned the gesture before pulling back and staring at her cousin.

"Caleb, you look so different. Where did all these muscles come from; did you join the football team or something?" Emily was astonished at the size of her cousin and began to wonder if this was what all the boys looked like now.

"Swim team actually," he answered, before looking down at the girl half-hiding behind Emily, "And who's this lovely lady," Alexis grinned sheepishly, before sticking her thumb in her mouth and grabbing hold of Emily's leg with her other hand. Emily laughed and bent down to pick up the child.

"This is Alexis, Caleb. And Lexi, this is your cousin Caleb. Can you say hi?" Alexis glanced at the boy and whispered a quick hi before burying her face in Emily's shoulder. Caleb was staring from the child to Emily and back again. Emily groaned, she had wanted to wait until everyone was together so she would only have to explain once.

Fortunately, at that moment Evelyn had finished signing the papers and came over to welcome the two. Emily made the hugs and kisses where appropriate and introduced Alexis, about which Evelyn already knew the truth. But Emily was not focused on the present. She was actually trying to figure out what the hell she was going to say to everyone when they arrived back at the mansion. Because, knowing the families, everyone would be waiting to welcome her back to Ipswich.

The drive to Ipswich was only an hour long, but by this point Emily wished it had taken 5. Alexis had fallen back asleep in the car seat Evelyn had bought for her, so Emily just stared out the window, ignoring both Caleb's and Evelyn's attempts at conversation. Eventually the chatter between the mother and son ceased and the car was doused in silence. But Emily didn't mind, she was still debating on what to tell the families. Evelyn had told her that she hadn't told anyone, so it was up to herself to make the decision on who to tell and how much to reveal.

When the car pulled into the driveway, Emily gaped at the size of the house; it was so much bigger than she remembered. However she was not surprised to see the row of cars lining the driveway. Not wanting to wake Alexis, she carefully lifted the slumbering child out of the car and let her sleep. It had been a long day, and by the looks of the cars there were a lot of people inside. Alexis didn't need all that excitement yet. As she began to walk towards the door, she heard Evelyn call her back.

"Why don't I take Alexis up to her room through the kitchen so she doesn't wake up and Caleb can take you to see everyone," Emily nodded, kissed the child on the forehead before handing her over to her aunt, and let Caleb lead her through the front door. She heard the voices before she saw anyone and then it all noise ceased. Emily looked at the people standing in front of her, sipping from drinks and eating from platters sprinkled throughout the room. And then she heard a yell.

"Emily!" It was Tyler, forcing his way through the crowd, before tripping over a couch and falling flat on his face. Emily laughed, for the first time in a long time, and went over to help him.

"Hey there baby boy, miss me?" she was engulfed in a hug and stumbled back when she realized how tall he was, "Wow, Ty. You hit puberty or something. Last time I saw you, you were 5 feet tall." Tyler shrugged and blushed.

"Shut up Em," he muttered before grabbing her in another hug. Finally being released from him, she only found herself being grabbed from behind. She tensed as she whipped around but relaxed when she saw who it was.

"Pogue!" Emily yelled and flung herself at him, grabbing him around the waist, "I missed you." She was surprised to find tears running down her cheeks. Pogue picked her up and spun her around, before setting her gently back down on the ground. He reached up and wiped a few tears of her face.

"I missed you too, but don't cry. Your finally home, be happy," a cough from behind him, caused him to turn around, then face back to Emily, "And this is Kate Tunney, my girlfriend."

"It's so good to finally meet you. Pogue talks about you all the time, it can get kind off annoying," Kate shook Emily's hand, while Emily studied her. She was a mocha colour, with beautiful black hair and brown eyes, and a smile that reached her eyes. Emily liked her already. But someone was missing. Emily glanced around the room. The only people left were the parents of her friends.

"Reid isn't here," she turned to Tyler, who was looking at her sadly, "We told him you were coming, but he decided to stay at the dorm." Emily shrugged, looking to the world as if she really didn't care. But she did.

For the next half an hour she said hello to everyone and answered all the same questions over and over again. "I'm so sorry to hear about your parents. A car crash wasn't it?"Thank you and yes it was. "Are you going to Spencer?" Yes. "Will you be living here or at the dorms?" Here. Just when Emily was about to play the "It's been such a long trip, I'm going to go lay down" card, who walks in but Reid Garwin. He stood at the door and stared at the girl who had grown up without him, before tripping when a small being ran by him.

"Momma!" Alexis cried as she ran into her mother's arms. Emily picked up the child and gently soothed her, completely ignoring the stunned crowd standing in shock behind her. Only Evelyn Danvers was not shocked by this display, as she had already known the truth. Caleb was the first to come out of his astonishment.

"Alexis isn't your sister, is she?" Emily looked up at him, and then back down at the beautiful child laying her head on her shoulder, thumb stuck in her mouth.

"No. Lexi is my daughter," A loud bang caused Emily's head to jerk towards the door. Reid had punched his fist into the wall. He just stood there, head down and fist on the wall where it had struck. Then he just turned his head and looked at her, just stared, taking in her features as well as the child on her hip. Reid scowled, then abruptly turned and left the house.

Emily stared after him, not noticing a tear fall down her face.

"Momma, why are you crying?" Alexis's hand came up and wiped off the tear from her mother's face. Emily looked down at Alexis and smiled, tugging on one of her braids.

"I'm fine, baby," by this time, Evelyn had managed to shoo off the families, leaving only the remaining sons behind. Giving Emily a nod, she too left the room, giving Emily the space she needed to confront her cousin and friends.

"Emily, would you care to explain what's going on here?" Pogue sat on one of the couches, running a hand through his long hair. Emily sighed, and put Alexis back down on the ground, who walked off to the kitchen in search of food.

"That was Alexis Grace Cochrane, my daughter. She's three years old and was a mistake. But she was the best mistake I ever made. She is my everything, and I'm alive because of her," Emily looked at the boys as she spoke, looking each one of them in the eye, "I am not ashamed because I'm a mother at 17. In fact I think it's the best thing that has ever happened to me." Tyler was the first one to speak.

"So, who's the father?" he had asked the question all 3 boys wanted to ask, but Caleb and Pogue still glared at him. However, at this question, Emily looked at the ground, "Is it that Johnson kid you were dating?" None of the boys noticed as Emily flinched slightly at the name but she shook her head.

"I'd rather not talk about it. So what's wrong with Reid?" Emily quickly changed the subject, allowing her blonde hair to fall in front of her face.

"He missed you a lot when you left. I'm pretty sure he took it the hardest out of the four of us. When you left, he changed. He became angry and a rebel. He uses every day for the littlest things, which sets Caleb off, and then they fight and Reid becomes even more of a rebel," Emily listened with astonishment. What happened to the sweet boy who would do anything for his brothers and his friends, "Emily...I think he loved you. And when you revealed that Alexis is your daughter he flipped out and probably thinks you abandoned him or something."

"But why would he think that?"

"Remember; it must have been around Christmas the year you left and you called and told Reid that you loved him too. I don't think he ever forgot that. Do you know that he has never dated at all?" Pogue was looking straight at Emily, and watched as her face seemed to become more and more sad with each word Tyler uttered. Finally, Emily looked up and her eyes seemed to be full of unshed tears.

"I have to put Lexi to bed, and I'm going to go to bed too. I'll see you guys tomorrow," and with that, Emily left the room and stole her daughter away from Evelyn. She helped Alexis change into pyjamas, and placed her in bed. Evelyn and Caleb had decorated Alexis's room to be pink and blue, Alexis's favourite colours.

"Momma, sing my song," Alexis asked tiredly, smothering a yawn with her words. Emily pulled the covers up around both of them, and held the child close as she began to sing,

"So long ago, so far away, each night I pray,

Volvero los dias passoados

I promise you that come what may

These days will stay in my memory.

God only knows what tomorrow brings,

You're in my heart so my spirit sings

And I'll be strong just as long as you remember me,

Recuerda me, remember me."

Alexis was asleep, and Emily found she didn't want to move from this position. Holding her daughter close to her, knowing that she would protect her with her life. Brushing a lock of hair from Alexis's forehead and kissed her daughter settled down to sleep.

"Oh baby, what am I going to do?"

Unbeknownst to the small family, a figure was watching and listening from outside the window. Reid placed his hand against the window pane, and glared at Emily. He was angry, angrier than he had ever been, but he couldn't hurt Emily, as much as he wanted to make her feel as bad as he did. He felt betrayed. Around Spencer, he was known for sleeping around, but in reality, those were all rumours. He was still a virgin and had always waited for the day Emily would come back to him. And here she was, and he finds out that she betrayed him and got shacked up.

"What am I going to do?"


	3. Chapter 3 If That's What It Takes

_Hey everyone; thanks for all the reviews, favourites and story alerts. I was going to wait a little longer before putting this up, but I've become sick with the flu (H1N1), so I don't know when the next chapter will be ready. Thanks again and here we go..._

**Tears of Life**

**Chapter 3- If That's What It Takes**

Caleb stared at the wall, ignoring the bowl of cereal sitting uneaten in front of him. He hadn't slept a wink during the night, instead running the unbelievable conversation (if you could call it a conversation; it was more of an explanation) through his head, trying to make sense of what was happening.

After Emily had left the three boys alone, they had simply sat in silence, until Tyler got up to leave, announcing his plan to go find Reid and make sure he wasn't doing anything stupid. Shortly thereafter Pogue had left as well, deciding that he was going to go find Kate. Caleb was pretty sure he was going to go blow off some steam, in a, well, obscene way. He himself had tried to go to bed early, but, as said earlier, he hadn't slept at all.

And yet, even now, his mind could still not comprehend that Emily had a daughter. A daughter that he had never heard about, I mean, his mother had warned him that a young girl would be accompanying Emily, but he had just assumed Alexis was her sister. But apparently not. And now here he was, spending his entire morning mulling over these events. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. What the hell was he even doing here? It's not like he could do anything about it.

"Hey Caleb," the voice sounded tired, and stressed. Caleb turned to the stairs and watched as the blonde girl slowly walked down and then towards him. She collapsed on the chair next to him and placed her head on her folded arms. She looked at him and hesitated, "So..."

"Did you sleep well?" Caleb didn't want to bring up any awkward conversations; he only wanted his cousin back. But Emily only nodded sleepily and Caleb laughed, "You always were a bad liar." Emily glared at him before slapping him on the arm. She started laughing herself.

"You just keep telling yourself that," her blue eyes sparkled and she realized just how good it felt to laugh and joke around, just like before, "Where is everyone?"

"Tyler left last night to check on Reid," he noticed the way Emily flinched at the name, but decided not to mention it, "And Pogue left after him to go see Kate. We're all gonna meet up later though, probably at Nicky's or I think there's a party at the Dells." Emily's eyes lit up for the second time.

"Nicky's is still open?" she asked. Nicky's had been one of her favourite places as a kid. Yes, usually it was just bar, but every Saturday, it would allow a few hours just for younger kids to come and hang out. The boys and her had been some of Nicky's most frequent customers, and apparently the boy's still were.

"Yep...hey! Where's Alexis?"

"Still upstairs sleeping. Yesterday was a big day for her. She'll probably sleep for another hour or so. I'll have to wake her up soon though so she'll be able to go down for a nap later," Emily looked down at the countertop again, "You...you're not mad are you?" Not that his opinion would ever change the fact that she loved her daughter, but Caleb was her cousin, and she loved him.

"I'm not mad...more like confused. When you left you were so young, we all were," Caleb placed his hand under her chin and gently lifted her head until he was staring into her eyes, "When we heard you were coming back, I guess we all expected you to be the same."

"But I'm not," Emily whispered, looking into Caleb's eyes for any hint of a lie.

"No, you're not. But we love you anyways, even Reid," Caleb picked up his spoon, and shoved some cereal into his mouth, "Besides, I think Kate is getting a bit tired of being the only girl in the group." Emily laughed; glad she and Caleb had finally gotten the awkward part over with. Pushing back her chair, she wandered over to the shelf next to the fridge and grabbed a bowl and box of cheerios. Pouring herself a bowl, she sat back down next to her cousin and dug into her breakfast.

Caleb was the first to finish; he placed his dishes in the dishwasher and went upstairs to let Emily eat in peace. Walking past the room his mom had set up for Alexis, he found the child awake and playing with some stuffed animals on the floor. The girl looked up at him with big, blue eyes when he entered.

"Hey Alexis. Do you remember me; we met last night at the airport," she nodded at him and smiled.

"You're Caleb," He nodded, a smile lighting up his features before crouching down next to her.

"Do you want to surprise your mommy?" Alexis nodded eagerly. Caleb walked over to the suitcase sitting by the dresser and pulled out some jeans and a pink t-shirt for the small girl. He was struggling with her hair when Emily walked in. She laughed at the scene before her. Alexis was sitting on the floor, playing with her teddy and Caleb was behind her, trying to figure out how to tie a braid. Caleb scowled at her and dropped the attempted strand.

"Don't laugh at me, it's hard," he whined, but Emily just laughed harder. Alexis noticed her mom standing in the doorway and jumped up.

"Surprise!" she yelled. The young girl just looked so comical standing there, with half her hair tied in what looked like a knot and the other half hanging down her back.

"Oh I'm surprised alright. Did Caleb get you all dressed for me?" Emily asked, kneeling down to her daughter's level. Alexis nodded happily, but then frowned slightly.

"Ya, but he pulled on my hair real tight and now my head hurts," Emily smiled and turned Alexis around and began to work on the untangling the girl's hair. Within a few minutes, her hair had been untangled, brushed and pulled back into a ponytail while Caleb just stared in amazement. Emily laughed when she saw his face.

"You know, it's really not that hard," Emily picked up Alexis and looked at Caleb, "Are you coming?" He nodded and followed her down the stairs to the kitchen.

"How do you do that so fast?" he asked. Emily sat Alexis at the table and walked over to the countertop, before tossing a bib to Caleb. He tied it around the child's neck as Emily poured a small bowl of cereal. Placing it in front of Alexis she sat down at the counter and looked at Caleb.

"Practice. Lots and lots of practice," Caleb sat down next to her, "Thanks, by the way. For getting her dressed and stuff. It's a relief to know that she likes you. You would be surprised at how hard it is to find boys she actually likes." She pushed back her chair and balanced on the back legs.

By early that afternoon, Alexis was down for her nap and Emily and Caleb were watching a movie. Emily's eyes were beginning to tear up around the end and jumped when both Pogue and Tyler walked into the room.

"You got Caleb to watch Titanic," Pogue slumped down on the couch next to Emily, "Even Kate can't get Caleb to watch this movie. He hates it!" Emily turned to look at the shaggy-haired boy next to her.

"He didn't say anything when I put it in," she turned to look at Caleb who was suspiciously wiping his face with his arm, "In fact he was just looking like he was about to cry."

"I was not!" Caleb cried indignantly. Tyler snickered.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night Caleb," The three of them laughed at Caleb's embarrassment, before the foursome was engulfed in an uncomfortable silence. Emily sighed, this is exactly what she had wanted to avoid.

"Did you find Reid?" she asked, turning to Tyler. She half-hid her face behind her hair, not wanting the boys to see her eyes. She knew her eyes betrayed her feelings and hated it. She hated feeling weak.

"Ya. He's gone blowing off some steam. I'm gonna pick him up for wherever it is we decide to go," Tyler looked at Caleb; "Reid voted for the Dells so I guess that's where we're going?" he ended with a questioning look, making Emily laugh.

"Wow Tyler, still can't make any decisions. Always turning to Caleb," Now it was Caleb's turn to laugh at Tyler, "And I suppose Pogue is the same way." Again, Caleb's turn to laugh at Pogue.

"Yeah, we'll go to the Dells," Caleb turned to look at Emily, "Are you gonna come with us?" The girl faltered.

"I don't think so. I mean I have to look after Lexi and get ready for school and..." the three boys looked at her like she was crazy.

"You know my mom will babysit Lexi. She loves the kid; this is the most happy I've seen her for a long time and school doesn't start for another couple of days. You should come and meet people," Caleb said to her, "It'll be a lot of fun. And it'll be a good opportunity to talk to Reid." Emily literally flinched when as he spoke.

"Maybe Reid doesn't want to talk to me."

"I think he wants to talk to you. He just doesn't know what to say," Tyler looked at Emily, "Where's Lexi, by the way."

"Upstairs sleeping," she looked over at the stairs and saw Evelyn walk down with Alexis, "Or not. Hey baby." Emily walked over to her aunt and thanked her, before gathering the child in her own arms.

"Momma?" the child asked sleepily, "Can we go to the park?" Emily looked at the boys.

"Do you guys want to come with us? I guess we're going to the park," She hoisted the child higher on her hip and stared down the guys.

"Don't have anything better to do," Pogue shrugged, "I'll come." Caleb agreed, and the three looked at Tyler, who agreed to join as well.

It was later that evening, while getting ready to go to the Dells when the subject Emily had not wanted to come up, decided to rear its ugly head. She was in the middle of deciding what to wear, when Alexis abruptly stopped playing and looked at her mother.

"Momma, are we ever gonna see daddy again?" Emily froze before turning to look at her daughter. She ran over the question in her mind, trying desperately to figure out what to tell the child.

"I don't think so sweetie. But you have to promise me something, alright?" she kneeled in front of Alexis, grabbing hold of the child's shoulders and stared into her eyes until the girl nodded, "You can't tell anyone about daddy, okay? No one, no matter what. Can you do that? Can you keep daddy a secret, just between you and me?" Emily hadn't even registered the fear in her child's eyes; she only kept a hold on the girl and stared.

"A secret? Why?" Alexis was confused, but Emily didn't care. She shook the child harshly, before pulling back when she realized what she was doing. She stared at her daughter, noting the tears beginning to appear in her brown eyes.

"I'm sorry baby. I just don't want you to tell anyone, okay? It's very important," the child nodded slowly.

"Do you hate me?" Emily barely heard Alexis' whispered question. She mentally punched herself, before pulling her daughter into a hug.

"I could never hate you. I love you so much," when she pulled back, Alexis was smiling again, and the tears had all but disappeared from her eyes. The child resumed her earlier activity and Emily sighed. What was wrong with her? She had never been this way before, and had certainly never hurt Alexis. Turning back to her closet, she decided to just go simple, and pulled on a pair of jeans and light green halter. Grabbing a jean jacket, she turned back to her daughter.

"Lexi, I'm going out with Caleb and his friends tonight, but Auntie Evelyn is going to play with you and put you to bed okay? I'll be back when you wake up in the morning," Alexis nodded, use to her mother leaving her with a babysitter. Emily kissed the top of her head and headed downstairs to meet the boys.

Evelyn was in the kitchen when she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Lexi's upstairs playing. I told her I'm going out and that you'll be babysitting her, so she should be fine. Can you make sure she's in bed by 8?" Evelyn chuckled and pulled her niece in for a hug.

"Don't worry about anything. I have raised a child before you know."

"Yeah, and look how well he turned out." The two women laughed.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" They turned to see Caleb standing in the doorway of the kitchen. Emily laughed again, before grabbing her cousin's hand.

"Come on Caleb. We have to go or we'll be late to meet everyone," Caleb was still protesting the comment as they walked out to his car.


End file.
